This one was pretty interesting because I have shipped many pairings in my day. Most canon, some not. Obviously I’m not including non-canon couples here, but my decision ultimately rested with who I most enjoyed seeing on screen and which relationship I think works the most.
In the end, I had another tie on my hands, but I’m justifying it by separating the two choices into a romantic couple where the show focuses on their romance and a romantic couple where the show has nothing to do with their romance (but they obviously remain main characters).
There.
Overly specific cheating justification engaged!
My first choice is in Isaac and Miria from Baccano!
This is one of my favorite shows, as you’ve probably guessed by now, but it does get pretty dark and insane. Some good and consistent comic relief is needed, but it definitely shouldn’t be annoying. Cue Isaac and Miria, the best comic relief duo ever.
It takes talent to do comic relief correctly in a way that’s not stupid or grating over time, and these guys pass that test with flying colors. These two are crazy, but in a funny sense. Their banter and shenanigans are just so unique and enjoyable to watch, and who doesn’t love seeing these two get all dressed up in various costumes that don’t really help them with their crimes, when you think about it. They obviously love each other very much, and if not in a romantic sense, despite the fact that they’re canon lovers, then definitely in the vein of the best of best friends.
Not to mention that they’re just overall really nice people. They may be thieves, but they don’t really have malicious intentions. Their influence on the rest of the characters in the cast also can’t be ignored as they tend to bring out the best in everyone that they meet. These guys aren’t just one of my favorite anime couples, they’re also two of my favorite anime characters ever.
In more of a focus on romantic anime, I chose Chihiro and Renji from Ef: A Tale of Memories.
I have a bit of a love/ha–….err, alright, dislike with this show because while I love this pairing, the show also shares its focus with an annoying as hell and stupid love triangle, but I’ll cross that bridge when I get to the actual review. For now, let’s focus on Chihiro and Renji.
For the most part, they have a pretty cut and dry relationship at first. He meets her at an abandoned train station that he likes to frequent and they hit it off pretty well. However, the drama starts the next day when he discovers that she doesn’t remember who he is or what happened the day before. See, Chihiro only has a 13 hour memory span due to an accident she had when she was a kid that also took her eye. She goes through the day relatively normally, but forgets the events of the previous day when she wakes up in the morning.
And before you say anything, yes and no to this being like 50 First Dates. It is in the sense that….well, its basically the same concept, but it’s not handled in a comedic manner at all. It’s just as tragic as it seems.
To combat her memory loss, Chihiro makes entries in her journal every night about the day’s events, and Chihiro reads these entries when she gets up in the morning. So, in a sense, she is aware of certain things that happened the previous day, but she doesn’t remember them.
Renji grows to care about and love Chihiro so much that he’s more than willing to stay with her even through this debilitating memory problem, but their relationship is still tried severely in various ways. Despite this, they do their best to stick together time and time again, and I loved watching every minute of it.
Honorable Mentions: Keiichi and Belldandy from Ah, My Goddess! (Very nearly made it), Yuki and Tohru from Fruits Basket (isn’t entirely canon, so blah), TK and Kari from Digimon (Completely unclear whether it’s canon)
The Anime Madhouse 